by Sophie Love
“Yes, Mom. He’s dying. And I’m leaving. Goodbye.”
With that, she stormed out of the apartment. It was only once she was in the safety of the corridor that she let her sobs consume her.
*
“Em! Em, stop!” Amy cried, hurrying out of the apartment.
Emily wiped away tears of fury. “I hate her,” she screamed, hearing in her own voice the same anger Chantelle had projected at Laverne.
“I know,” Amy said, shaking her head. “I’m sorry. I should have turned Ben away. I didn’t realize.”
“It’s not your fault,” Emily said, exhaling. She unclenched her fists.
“What are you doing now?” Amy asked, gently. She rubbed Emily’s shoulder. “Will you come back inside?”
Emily shook her head. “Absolutely not. I want to go home, Amy. I don’t belong here.”
“Hon, you’re being melodramatic,” Amy said. “Take a minute and come back inside.”
“No,” Emily said more forcefully. “I mean it. I don’t like being here in New York City anymore. All it does is make me sad. From my mom, to Ben, to just everything. I don’t want to be here now. I want to go home.”
Amy chewed her lip as though deliberating. Finally, she let out a relenting sigh.
“Take my car,” she said, reaching into her pocket and handing Emily her keys. “I’ll take one of the company cars back on Monday.”
Emily shook her head. “You don’t have to do that.” It was too much of an imposition.
“Em, it’s fine,” Amy urged her. “I just want you to be all right.”
Finally, Emily relented with a nod. She snuffled up her tears and took Amy’s keys. “Thanks.”
Amy hugged her tightly. “I truly am sorry,” she said in her ear. “I didn’t mean to rock the boat like that.”
“It’s not your fault,” Emily told her again. “The boat’s been about to sink for years. Something was going to be the final straw, you know. I’m just surprised it took as long as it did.”
Amy rubbed Emily’s arm again. “I should probably get back to your mom,” she said. “I think the news about Roy hit her pretty hard.”
Emily felt terrible for the way she’d revealed the news to her mother. She was glad that there was a familiar person around to comfort her during this time. She never understood how Amy had any tolerance with Patricia but they’d known each other as long as Emily and Amy had been friends and somehow they just got on. Amy was endlessly more patient, Emily thought, plus she’d grown up in a happy, secure family, so she had more reserves to spare for those in need. It was one of the things Emily admired the most in her.
“Are you going to be okay driving home?” Amy said.
Emily nodded. It had been a while since she’d been behind the wheel of a car and she was a little nervous. But Amy’s Chrysler was extremely safe and easy to drive so her anguish wasn’t too great.
They parted ways, squeezing one another’s hands with support. Emily rode the elevator down to the basement, found Amy’s car, and got inside, feeling better inside, like she was encased in a protective bubble. She couldn’t begin to understand how she’d ever lived in New York City, how she’d gotten through each day. Life in Sunset Harbor was immeasurably better and she was looking forward to getting home.
She dialed Daniel’s number to tell him but it went to his voicemail. He was useless with his phone at the best of times—not to mention almost always occupied with some kind of work activity—so she didn’t think much of it.
She looked at the clock and saw that even if she didn’t encounter any traffic or stop at a rest stop to pee—something that was unthinkable with Baby Charlotte lying on her bladder—it would be after midnight by the time she got back to Maine. Spending two-thirds of a single day on the freeway was not her idea of a good time, but it was better than the alternative, staying at Amy’s overnight and mulling over how terrible the party had truly gone.
She started the ignition and the radio blasted out a song, still on high volume from the drive down. She thought sadly of how much happiness she’d felt earlier this morning, how much enthusiasm and excitement she’d had for the trip, and how that had all been dashed.
She reversed out of the parking lot, filled now with a new emotion. It was a sort of melancholy resolve. She’d truly drawn a line under her life in New York City. This was not her home anymore. It never would be again. Sunset Harbor was where she belonged. And she couldn’t wait to get back.
CHAPTER NINE
With the women away in New York City, Daniel, George, and Harry had decided it would be a great opportunity to get together and have that long-awaited boys’ night out. Chantelle was at a movie night at Toby’s house anyway, and Daniel didn’t much feel like rattling around the inn alone. So at around 8 p.m. he took a cab into town and headed to the bar. A little while later, George and Harry arrived. Daniel bought them all a beer, and then they sat together at one of the round chestnut wood tables.
They chose a seat with a perfect view of the television. George and Harry were both avid sports fans, and though Daniel was more of a fishing man, he could get behind a good televised sports game.
“Dad-to-be,” Harry said to Daniel. “How does it feel? It’s not long now, is it?”
Daniel took a swig of his beer. “Three months. And it feels amazing. I’m caught between being excited and absolutely petrified, you know? I missed out on all of this with Chantelle so it’s all completely new.”
“You’re lucky,” George said to Daniel. “You both are. I’d love to settle down.”
Harry grinned. “I don’t know if you can count me and Amy as having settled down,” he said. “But I’d marry her in a heartbeat if I thought she wanted to.”
Daniel pressed his lips together. Thanks to Emily he had an insight into Amy’s state of mind and knew far more about the inner workings of Harry’s relationship than he ought to.
“Do they have any single friends?” George pressed. “Clearly this Sunset Harbor man, New York City woman coupling works well.”
“There’s Jayne,” Daniel said. “But I think she’s more trouble than she’s worth.” He laughed. He was fond of Jayne but she did have a remarkable talent of giving him a headache. “Other than those two, all of Emily’s friends are in Sunset Harbor now so you know most of them.”
George smirked and swigged his beer. “I should’ve made a move on Serena when I had the chance.”
Daniel and Harry laughed.
“I don’t know if you’re her type,” Daniel replied, comparing Owen—shy, gentle, creative—with George—strong, loud, and confident. “But I suppose opposites can attract.”
“Like me and Amy,” Harry added, chuckling. “Don’t ask me how it works. It just does.”
Once again, Daniel kept silent.
George was midway through sipping his beer when he paused and his eyes widened. He spluttered on his sip, then put the bottle down on the table.
“Now that is one beautiful lady,” he said.
Daniel and Harry craned their heads around to the bar where they could see the back of a woman with long black hair. She had an incredible figure, lean and toned, which she showed off in casual yet elegant sports gear. They turned back, neither making a comment.
George looked from one to the other, waiting for them to make some kind of exclamation about her attractiveness.
“Are you two blind?” he stammered when neither of them did. “Aren’t you seeing what I’m seeing?”
Daniel pointed to his wedding ring. “I only have eyes for Emily.”
Harry shrugged too. “Yeah, sorry, bro. I’ve kind of become unable to see women that way now. It’s kind of strange to be honest.” His face broke into one of his contented grins again. “But awesome at the same time.”
“Why don’t you speak to her?” Daniel said. “Five minutes ago you were complaining about being alone and bemoaning not having made a move on Serena. Here’s your chance.”
George looked uncharacteristically shy then
, and Daniel realized that for all his bravado, George carried a lot of insecurities. It always surprised him to discover that about people, especially the ones who seemed completely self-assured. It was often his louder, brasher friends who harbored secret anxieties, like Stu and Evan. You’d never guess from their outlandish behavior that they both had deep emotional difficulties that they grappled with every day.
He saw it now in George, a sudden revelation that his friend, who seemed full of confidence, who Daniel had always thought could get any girl he wanted, was actually deeply insecure.
“Why don’t I invite her over to join us?” Daniel said. “Take a bit of the pressure off?”
George looked relieved. He shrugged nonchalantly, in a way Daniel instantly recognized was his attempt to hide his true feelings.
“Yeah, sure, why not?” he said.
Daniel stood, taking his beer with him. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure my wedding ring is in full view,” he added.
He went over toward the bar, where the attractive woman had taken a stool. As he got closer, he realized she was resting both her elbows on the surface of the bar and was resting her face in her hands. Her shoulders were gently shaking. She was crying.
All thoughts of inviting her back to the table left Daniel’s mind immediately. Now he saw someone in need, someone in pain. His heart reached out to her, as it always did when he was confronted with someone in distress.
“I’m sorry to interrupt,” he said, fueled by compassion. “But is everything okay?”
The woman lifted her head and turned to face Daniel. The second he saw her face—beautiful, despite being tear-stained—he gasped. He knew that face. It was Astrid.
Her eyes widened with shock.
“Daniel?” she stammered. She quickly wiped her tears away with the sleeve of her tight, black top.
“Astrid,” he replied, a little breathless from shock. Instantly, words failed him. “What’s wrong?”
Astrid looked away, as though embarrassed. “Nothing I should be talking to you about,” she said.
Daniel couldn’t turn off his compassion just because the woman crying in front of him turned out to be his teenage sweetheart. If anything, it made him want to reach out more. Astrid had been the love of his life once upon a time. She’d been by his side as he’d transitioned from a teenager to a young adult, trying to forge his own path in life in spite of the terrible upbringing he’d experienced. Like Roy Mitchell and his friend Stu, Astrid had always been one of the people he’d counted as saving him from following a darker life path.
“Try me,” Daniel said, pulling up a stool. “I’ve been told I’m a good listener.”
Astrid looked hesitant. “I lost my job,” she told him.
“I’m sorry,” Daniel said. “What were you doing? I’m sure you’ll be able to find another.”
“I was a fitness instructor,” Astrid said. “Pilates mainly. But one of my clients was a mad paranoid bitch who thought I was flirting with her husband. So she destroyed me. She called the police on me, said I’d stolen stuff from her house. The charges were dropped on lack of evidence but now my reputation’s been ruined. No one wants to hire me.”
Daniel listened patiently, feeling awful for Astrid. It wasn’t fair. He knew her well. She was the last person in the world who would steal. In terms of a moral compass, Astrid was probably the person he’d known in life who had the strongest. You couldn’t meet a more trustworthy person.
“What are you going to do?” he asked, gently.
Astrid wiped away the tears recounting her story had brought back into her eyes. “Honestly, I don’t know. I could move but this is my home. I don’t think I should be driven out by rumors. I could retrain. But what else could I do? This is the only thing I’m any good at.” She turned her dark eyes on him. They were wide and appealing.
Daniel chewed his lip. The cogs in his head had started to turn but he wasn’t sure whether he should suggest what he was about to, especially without consulting Emily. But she was a deeply caring person too, and she would surely understand why he’d made the suggestion he was about to.
“I think I might know someone you could work for,” he said.
A look of hope glittered in Astrid’s eyes. “Who?” she asked.
“Me,” Daniel replied. “And Emily,” he added quickly.
Astrid frowned. “No offense, Dan, but you and Emily aren’t the usual clientele I get. I work with, like, super rich people. I don’t know if you’d be able to afford me.”
“Not us specifically,” Daniel corrected, “I mean the inn.” He shuffled in his seat and began to explain. “We’ve expanded recently. We have an island now, with a ton of work going on ready for the new year. We want it to be like a retreat, for artists or people who are looking to heal. We were going to speak to Tracy, the yoga instructor who works at the inn, about running retreats there. But maybe you could give it a try instead.”
Astrid just stared at him, her eyes growing wider. “What about Tracy?”
He shrugged. “Like I said, we haven’t even spoken to her about it yet. But maybe you could work together, or share the workload. Our marketing lady is putting together the website at the moment and she says there’s been a high amount of demand for it, so I think there might be space for both of you. Besides, she does yoga and you do Pilates, so you’re offering different services.”
“I do boot camps too,” Astrid added, looking excited and animated suddenly.
“I don’t know whether boot camps would work on an island advertised for its tranquility,” Daniel said with a laugh.
“Not for the island,” Astrid agreed. “I mean for the inn. I could be on the staff. Like you said, Tracy offers yoga only. Is there any demand for more vigorous workouts?”
Astrid’s enthusiasm was contagious. Daniel found his mind running away with him. “I don’t know. I’ll speak to Bryony though and find out.”
He smiled at Astrid, glad that she had cheered up. But then her face fell.
“Don’t you have to check this with your wife first?” she asked, glumly.
“Emily will love the idea,” Daniel said. “She’s crazily ambitious.”
“I don’t doubt that,” Astrid said. “I mean because of our history.” She looked awkward. “She wasn’t too happy with my turning up out of the blue that time.”
Daniel hadn’t spent much time thinking over the night Astrid had appeared on his doorstep. He hated dwelling on things, especially the bad things that had rocked his and Emily’s relationship. He hated drama.
“Okay, that’s a good point,” he said, running his hands through his hair. “We’ll need to have a proper conversation about it. She’s away this weekend, so why don’t you give me your contact info? I’ll speak to her and give you a call. I’m sure she’ll be fine with it though. She might just need a bit of reassurance. You intimidate her.”
Astrid looked bemused. “I do? Why? My life is a mess!”
Daniel laughed. “I’ll never understand that about women. When they’re drop dead gorgeous but just can’t see it. You’re stunning, Astrid, that’s why people get intimidated. That’s why I’m here in the first place, instead of my friend George!” For the first time since he’d sat down, he remembered George and Harry whom he’d abandoned at the table to watch the game.
Astrid looked back. “Which one is George?” she asked, her eyes widening. “The sexy one or the sexier one?”
Daniel let out a large laugh. “Come and sit with us and I can introduce you.”
“Sure,” Astrid said, sniffing and wiping the residue of wetness from her eyelashes. “Once my eyes aren’t blotchy red anymore.” She let out a sniffly laugh, and then she reached out and placed her hand on the one Daniel was resting on the bar. “Thank you,” she said with deep meaning. “Really, Dan. I don’t think anyone would have been able to cheer me up. But you always could.”
With his spare hand, Daniel patted hers, the one that lay on top of his on the bar. He was glad
that he’d helped her and smiled tenderly. “You’re welcome.”
CHAPTER TEN
Exhausted after many hours in the car, Emily saw that it was indeed just past midnight by the time she reached the inn and pulled up the drive. She parked up and shimmied out of the car, stretching her legs. She was stiff from the journey.
She headed into the inn and saw Lois on the reception desk covering the night shift. Music came from the speakeasy, which was often thrumming on a Saturday evening.
“Hey, Lois,” Emily said wearily.
Lois looked up and frowned. “I thought you were gone all weekend,” she said with an air of confusion.
“I had a change of plan.” Emily sighed. “Turns out I can’t stand to be in New York City anymore. Not even for an hour.” She thought of the disastrous party which had gone from fun to catastrophic in a record sixty-minute period.
“You drove all the way here from New York City?” Lois said, shocked.
“I know,” Emily replied, shaking her head. “It was a bit crazy. I’m so tired now, as you can imagine. Where are Chantelle and Daniel?”
“Suzanna picked Chantelle up earlier today. Toby’s having some kind of superhero movie marathon and Chantelle was the honorary girl. She’s sleeping over and insisted on taking her pink pillow, pink cover, and pink pajamas. She said she’s representing team pink.”
Emily laughed. That sounded just like Chantelle. “And Daniel?”
“Daniel took the opportunity to head to a bar in town,” Lois explained. “I think he’s watching a game with George and Harry.” She looked at the clock behind her. “He actually only left about an hour ago so they’ll probably still be there if you want to surprise them.”
Emily thought about it. Daniel had been desperate for a night out with just the boys in ages. She didn’t want to spoil his fun. But at the same time, she could really do with offloading to him. She could always help him arrange another evening to see Harry and George just the three of them. She’d pull an Amy and make it some kind of super special event to make up for it. Needing Daniel right now after the fallout from the fight with her mom kind of had to come first, she thought. She knew he’d understand.